The holidays are around the corner and a girl got nostalgic thinking back to when Christmas was not Christmas without chapati, bottles of soda, and shiny tinsel decorations.

In the spirit of taking a trip down memory lane, I caught up with two Nakuru locals to learn about how Nakuru residents celebrated Christmas back in the day.

John Githanga starts off by sharing, " During Christmas eve back in the late 60s and 70s, Christmas was considered a very big deal. Women from the PCEA church would visit homes within the estate, lighting up each house with Christmas carols all while the Salvation Army band marched while playing carols."

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He additionally notes that back then, everyone including the young and old, would Kesha the whole night awaiting the eventful Christmas day.

John Githanga, a resident of Nakuru.

Photo credit: FILE

"Adults would help us start bonfires and we would stay up till morning. The naughtier boys however had different plans," he chuckles before adding, "their version of fun was going round hitting other children with sodom apple fruits using slings(fair)."

All these activities would last up until Christmas morning where Christians would then get ready and go to church while those that didn't attend church would catch a quick nap, and be up in time for lunch, where it was the norm for most families back then to eat together.

"As I grew older, this was during the late 70s to the 80s, the holiday traditions shifted among Nakuru locals, with most of us going for a night out at the discos, where we'd dance the night away," John shares.

He additionally notes that at the time, the discos that were a favourite among the locals were Pivot, found at Shabaab and Oyster village, which used to be on Kenyatta Avenue.

While speaking for the 90s and early 2000s, Dennis Otieno shares, "I think this was the peak of Christmas celebrations here in Nakuru. Most of us stayed up late during Christmas eve waiting for Christmas. On the D-day, we'd attend church and sing lots of Christmas carols."

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Like many 90s babies, what made Christmas really special for Dennis was the hearty meals that were prepared, the shiny decorations and new outfits that came with the holidays.

" I remember how hard it was to go to sleep during Christmas eve as I couldn't wait to wear my new outfit to church," with a smile, he reminisces before adding," After church, lunch would consist of so many yummy foods like pilau. But a party was never a party without soda, chapati or cake."

After sharing the hearty meal just after Christmas service, many of the Nakuru locals would then make their way down to Lake Nakuru National Park.

Dennis adds, "There's a section at the park that was free and accessible to the public. That is where majority of us would go to have a picnic or spend time with our families. At this point, the younger ones would link up with their friends to play and show off their new clothes."

The Shabaab resident additionally notes that apart from new clothes, people would also rock fresh hairstyles specifically for Christmas.

"For the boys, we'd either rock a clean shave or a style called the box cut. While for the girls, they'd have a freshly plaited mosodo style or pussycat," he highlights.

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Which of these nostalgic moments did you get to experience?

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Remember how cool Christmas in Nakuru was between the '70s and '90s?

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Diligence Odongo